Sports drinks, cocktails and recipes

Tea is cool

Keeping rehydrated is an important part of staying healthy and we all know that we are supposed to drink around 8 glasses or 2 litres of water a day. The good news is that all non alcoholic beverages count towards your daily dose.

Your favourite tea, chilled and with a spoonful of honey can provide both rehydration and an energy boost after playing sport.

If you are worried about caffeine then our Rooibos with blood orange makes a great alternative and is also known to contain vitamin C for an extra boost.

'Tea on the rocks' - TEA Cocktails

I recently provided chilled tea for a gallery opening event. I served our Strawberry pepper in wine glasses with a slice of fresh strawberry and our chilled Rhubarb Spritzer with its gorgeous pale pink liquor. They were more popular than the wines on offer and with the drink driving laws, tea can provide a great alternative at parties and events and is far more "sexy" and elegant than juice!

You can however, spice up your tea with alcohol. Our strawberry Pepper tea with a splash of Vodka makes a lovely summer cocktail. Earl Grey with a dash of gin and slice of lemon or lime is delicious. Masala Chai, hot or cold teamed up with whisky and honey and a slice of lemon or orange can buck you up on even the coldest of winter nights.

TEA recipes

I like my tea best in a cup however there are lots of ways to use tea in the kitchen that can liven up your culinary range and I will be experimenting in my kitchen with various tea recipes over the coming months and adding them to the site. If you have any favourite tea recipes that you would like to share with us please send to.......

"Waste not - want not" was a saying in our house when I was a child...my granny would be proud of me, after brewing our Rhubarb Spritzer which is a pure fruit infusion I have been known to add the fruit pieces to my porridge or to a cake mix.

Salmon or white fish baked with either a light sprinkling of green Jasmine tea or Lapsang Souchong tea is also a winner.